rear surround question

earnest poole

I've got the option for a rear surround but I dont know wich speaker will fill this spot the best.what do you think.

• receiver Denon AVR-2802
• DVD Sony DVP- NS700P
• Front RT 800i
• Center CS 400i
• Surrounds RT 35i

juice21

i had rt25i's when i was running the exact same speaker set-up. it sounded good. i have since upgraded the 35i's to fx1000's, and 'stacked' the 35's on my 800's up front (see sysytem showcase) & kept the 25's as rear surrounds. your best option may be to upgrade the 35's to fx500's and move the 35's to rear surrounds. depends on how much HT vs. 5-channel audio you listen to, and what your preference for a rear speaker is. if you prefer direct radiating, either the 25 or 35 will be fine. i found that the 25's were a great solution since they could be nicely mounted via the omnimounts polk has on this site.

petrym

EP,

I had a similar question when I was putting in my system. The direct radiating 25's I had originally bought didn't fill out the room as I had hoped so I moved to the side-firing f/x300i pairing for the rear surround function. They provided a larger sound field than the 25's did and I'm happy I switched. The secret is to let your ears decide what is best for your setup.

Mike

L&R -- RT 800i
Center -- CS 245i (space limited, I wanted the 400)
Rears -- F/X300i
Sub -- PSW 450

scottvamp

I went with the cs245i. Absolutly no regrets. The cs400i would have went well with my front center cs400, but it was just a little to much for a rear center. Unless you use it alot for multi-surround music then it would hardly ever even make enough noise for the value. Since you are going direct with your side surrounds and I just go with another rt35i, you can not get a better match with that one. (IMO);)

elsid88

I agree with Juice.

I currently have the fx500i's as surrounds and the RT35i's for my surround back.

They have good full sound and match well with the 500's. Plus you never no when you will have movies come out that will be 7.1 discrete which then would make obsolete a center channel speaker being used as your surround back.

Of course it still depends on what you want to do. Personally when I am entertaining guest, the 7CH Stereo is quite nice thanks to the 35's.

Good luck...

Tom...

______________
Toshiba 57HX81
Panasonic RP-56
Monster MPHTS3500
Monster MPHTS2500
Denon AVR-4800
Denon POA-5200
RT1000i's (L/R)
CS400i (C)
FX 500i's(SL/SR)
RT35i's (SBL/SBR)
PSW650

scottvamp

I am not sure you want to drop $500 bucks for a center rear sulotion. But ya that would surely work.

never no when you will have movies come out that will be 7.1 discrete which then would make obsolete a center channel speaker being used as your surround back.

I really do not see any discrete 7.1 movies coming out in the next several years. And even to utalize it you would have to have 7.1 reciever.
6.1 will not be absolete for a really long time. Say maybe the next decade when something takes over dvd. It is like saying because of DVD-A that CD's are now absolete.
Ya, I am a 6.1 junky!:D

earnest poole

Who knows the best place to pick up a brand new set of the fx 500's. My local cc is all out and none of the other local stores have polks.:D

scottvamp

try www.crutchfield.com
doubled boxed
2 day shipping
30 day no question asked return
great cust. service
If you are first timer email me and I can get $25 off purchase
scottvamp1@yahoo.com

seaslug

Earnest,

I'm in the same predicament, with pretty much the same system (I have an Onkyo TX-DS797 and a PSW450 sub in addition to the 800i's, the 400i, and the 35i's). Since I only have six powered channels and don't want to spend the money for an additional amp, I'm leaning toward the CS245i. I have looked at the 15i's, the 25i's, and the 35i's, but they are typcially only sold as a pair, so this would not be very cost-effective since only one of the speakers could actually be powered by the receiver. I'm interested to hear how your system comes together, as I will probably be making a final decision within a month's time.:D

"Je pense, donc, je suis." -- Rene Descartes

nascarmann

Welcome seaslug to the forum!

What part of 10EC ya from neighbor?;)

OrangeToupee

There are F/X500i's, as well as F/X300i's, currently being sold on ebay; check it out. I'm with seaslug, in terms of filling out that sixth (rear center) channel with a CS245i.

seaslug

I'm from K-Town. Go Big Orange!!! How 'bout you, nascarmann?

"Je pense, donc, je suis." -- Rene Descartes

nascarmann

Kingsport:)GO VOLS!

nascarmann

Oh yah, shack's from K-town!

seaslug

If I purchase a CS245i as a rear surround, I will probably have to mount it on a speaker stand directly behind the couch in my home theater setup. Any recommendation on height and distance?

"Je pense, donc, je suis." -- Rene Descartes

shack

nascarmann - Allright - Tennessee is well represented here. There is me, and NashvilleTitans (he hasn't been around for a couple of weeks), you (As soon as you move back to "God's country" ) and now seaslug.

Welcome to the forum seaslug! He must be smart because he has Polk speakers and quotes famous French philosophers....I think therefore I am...I took a little french back in high school (only because the teacher was a real looker!) .

seaslug - btw the cs245i is a very nice speaker and you can get one at Crutchfield for $149. I use it as my front center since the 400 is too big for my application. I've mated it with the rt55i which has the same drivers and tweeters as your 400, 800s and 35s. I don't think you will be disappointed using this as your rear center. You better decide soon as I don't think this one will be around much longer and the new csi30 has a different tweeter. This may not make much difference when used for the rear but the 245 should be a seamless match.

Any recomendation on height and distance?

How far behind you couch is your back wall? If that is possible then about 6 feet high would be good if you have some space between the wall and the couch. If the couch is backed up to the wall then you could still mount it on the wall and tilt it down slightly towards the listening area.

seaslug

Shack,

Thanks for the reply. Part of my problem is that I don't really have a back wall. The living room in my townhouse is connected to the dining area, and my wife-to-be would jerk a knot in my tail if I tried to wall-mount a speaker over the dining room table. That's why I'm going to have to settle for a speaker stand, and it's pretty much going to be right behind the couch. I know this is not an ideal setup, but I REALLY want 6.1 sound--afterall, I did spend a lot of money on a 6.1 receiver! I'm trying to convince myself that having the rear surround directly behind my head will not ruin the effect. I'm thinking about a 36" stand, so at least the tweeter will be above ear-level in the seated position.

"Je pense, donc, je suis." -- Rene Descartes

scottvamp

Hi, just check out my system showcase. I made a hanging speaker mount for my rear cs245i. The placement is just right also. Set it up so that I can angle it for just the right spot.:cool:

joe logston

seaslug wecome to the forum,

you can hang the rear speaker from the ceiling with 2 small poles just the right hight & distance from you and run your speaker wire in one of the poles, and paint them the same as your walls.